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Jackson Browne Takes it Easy with SolaFrames

USA – Singer songwriter Jackson Browne is taking it easy these days on lamp changes and power requirements by using an all-LED touring rig which includes High End Systems Sola Series.

Lighting designer/director Steve Comer chose five SolaFrame 2000s from lighting vendor Bandit Lites on his springtime acoustic concert tour, which ran through 13 US cities 22 March to 9 April.

“Our acoustic tour is a scaled-back tour production wise,” Comer explains. “I had to design a rig that could fit in a minimal truck footprint and still go up easily on a daily basis.”

The LD says using an all-LED rig has been an on-going goal. “We have been pushing to go 100 percent LED with Jackson for a long time now. The fixtures that were always lacking were LED spot fixtures. I tried the SolaFrames because of their light output (at 26,000 lumens from a 600 Watt LED source) and the ability to zoom wide (6-46 degrees zoom). I was also able to use them for a whole stage wash with gobos with minimal fixtures, and they acted as a primary backlight for the performers.”

Comer says that with just the five units he had, he was able to achieve both an even stage wash and backlight for his show.

“I was very impressed at the light output, the even field and great optics,” he notes. “The colour mixing was smooth and the fixture did a great job of CTB and CTO colours along with pastels.”

While framing shutters are a major feature of the fixture, Comer says this design was “a more theatrical show with little fixture movement,” so he did not use the framing shutters.

The LD, who’s worked with Browne for ten years now, is constantly redesigning looks for for his ever-changing configurations that range from a run with a couple of vocalists and a musician, to full-on productions with a full band on stage.